JAMB Backs Sierra Leone Plan for Centralised Admissions System Reform

Nigeria’s Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has pledged continued technical support for Sierra Leone as the West African nation moves to establish a Centralised Admissions System aimed at improving transparency and efficiency in tertiary education placement.

The assurance was given at a high-level stakeholder engagement in Freetown, organised by Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, as part of broader reforms to modernise the country’s admissions process across universities and technical institutions.

The initiative follows a recent study visit by a Sierra Leonean delegation led by Deputy Minister Sarjoh Aziz-Kamara, who observed Nigeria’s centralised admissions operations during JAMB’s annual policy engagement.

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Dr Haja Ramatulai Wurie, said the proposed system has already secured Cabinet approval and is backed by the Universities Act of 2021.

According to her, the reform will replace the current decentralised admissions structure with a unified digital platform covering universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.

She explained that the process is being implemented with the involvement of several national agencies, including the Tertiary Education Commission, West African Examinations Council, National Civil Registration Authority, and the National Telecommunications Authority.

Dr Wurie also expressed appreciation to Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, for supporting Sierra Leone’s education reforms and digital transition agenda.

Deputy Minister Sarjoh Aziz-Kamara described the proposed framework as a major step toward strengthening fairness, accountability and efficiency in higher education admissions.

He disclosed that a Centralised Admissions Secretariat will be created within the ministry to coordinate the new digital admissions platform.

A key feature of the engagement was a presentation by JAMB outlining a digital admissions architecture designed to eliminate duplication, improve data integrity and support long-term educational planning.

JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, commended Sierra Leone’s consultative approach, noting that Nigeria introduced its own centralised admissions system in 1978 to address similar systemic challenges.

He assured that Nigeria would continue to provide technical guidance, stressing that Sierra Leone was not being asked to replicate Nigeria’s model wholesale but to adapt a system suited to its own national context.

The collaboration is being viewed as a significant milestone in educational cooperation between both countries, strengthening regional efforts to leverage technology for improved access, transparency and governance in higher education admissions.